


Destination Unknown

by thesoundofasmile



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, POV Wanda Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 05:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoundofasmile/pseuds/thesoundofasmile
Summary: (Spoilers for Wandavision...so proceed at your own risk)Wanda leaves Westview with no destination in mind. She gets one from an unexpected source.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	Destination Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> This one came about because I love the idea of Natasha being a mentor to Wanda. And also because it popped into my head after I watched the finale of Wandavision and wouldn't let go until I sat down to write it.
> 
> Enjoy.

The air is crisp and biting on Wanda’s cheeks as she flies high above the roads criss-crossing the ground below. She’d left the New Jersey town without any destination in mind, but she’d known she couldn’t stay. She had caused too much pain, too much hurt, and too much fear for the town to ever be her home as Vision had planned for them. And so, with SWORD and however many other agencies certainly aiming to bring her in, she’d left her latest home behind.

Returning to the Avengers Compound, or rather what was left of it, was out of the question. There would be questions that she wasn’t ready to answer, and conversations she wasn’t ready to have.

The Barton farmhouse was out too. Clint had offered up his guest room to her after Tony Stark’s funeral, but she’d declined. He had just gotten his family back after losing them for five years, and it hadn’t felt right to interrupt their reunion. And of course he was still grieving the loss of Natasha too.

Grief washes over her and Wanda feels her heart squeeze painfully at the thought of her former mentor and friend. Natasha had been good to her. Like an older sister in many ways. Despite their rocky start, she’d been kind and thoughtful as Wanda transitioned into the hero life. She’d learned Sokovian so Wanda could speak it with someone, even as she taught her how to drop her accent to make blending in easier. She’d helped train her, showing her ways to control her emotions and to centre herself, and teaching her tactics that would play to her strengths in a fight.

It had been a shock to come back and be fighting a battle  _ again _ . It had been a shock to see Tony Stark make the sacrifice as he had, saving them all. And then, in the aftermath of all the chaos and confusion of the battle, it had been a shock to meet Clint’s gaze and see nothing but grief and pain in his expression. She hadn’t needed to ask, but he’d voiced it anyway - telling her what Nat had done and that she was gone.

Her last memories of Vision were crisp and clear in her mind - his expression as he told her they were out of time, the silent ‘I love you’ she had felt more than heard or seen.

The last time she’d seen Nat was a brief glimpse of the woman charging at Thanos. It had been during a quick glance behind her to check on Thanos’ approach. A flash of blonde hair and the dark grey and green of her suit. That was it.

Wanda regrets not having spoken to her more that day. They’d been busy fighting, yes, but there’d been a moment after she’d saved Nat and Okoye. Nat had wiped the alien blood from her face and shot her a grin that was filled with pride before saying, “Thanks for the save. I owe you one.”

They’d both been pulled away into the battle right after, but Wanda wishes she’d said something... _ anything _ to her friend at that moment. She hadn’t known she wouldn’t get another chance and there was so much she should’ve said.

Memories from the years before that battle flicker through her mind. She’d spent time with Steve, Sam, and Natasha as they hid as fugitives, moving from country to country doing what good they could.

And then it hits her suddenly. She knows exactly where she can go.

* * *

_ “Hey, Nat,” Wanda says as she enters the house just behind Sam. _

_ “Hey,” Nat says without looking up from her tablet. “Get everything?” _

_ “Everything but the vodka,” Sam says, shooting Wanda a wink as they both wait for Nat to take the bait. _

_ “Bullshit, Sam. I heard the clinking of the bottles when you came in,” Natasha replies, gaze still fixed on the tablet as she makes a few notes on a pad of paper on the couch next to her. _

_ Sam’s jaw drops and Wanda grins. He should’ve known better than to try and pull one over on Nat. _

_ “You’re scary, you know that?” he says, shaking his head as he makes his way over to the kitchen to start putting away the groceries. _

_ “Yeah, I’ve been told a couple times,” she remarks dryly before frowning deeply at whatever she’s looking at. Wanda wonders what it is she’s reviewing, because her frown is much deeper than usual. At the very least, she assumes their departure from this safehouse isn’t far away. _

_ “That you, Sam?” Steve says as he joins them in the den. _

_ “Yeah, just got back,” Sam replies, holding up some eggs and a loaf of bread. _

_ “Still up for a run?” _

_ Sam rolls his eyes. “Not if you’re just going to embarrass me.” _

_ Steve grins. “Don’t worry, I can’t go full speed around here.” _

_ “Yeah, yeah. Let me just get this stuff put away.” _

_ “I’ll do it,” Wanda offers. _

_ “You sure?” _

_ She nods. “No problem.” _

_ “Thanks, Wanda,” Sam says before he makes his way down the hall and into one of the bedrooms. _

_ “Everything go okay?” Steve asks. _

_ Wanda smiles. “Fine,” she assures. “You and Nat worry too much.” _

_ “Can’t help it,” he replies with a sheepish smile. _

_ “Who’s cooking tonight?” _

_ “I am,” the redhead pipes up from the couch, looking up from the tablet this time. “You get the veggies?” _

_ “Uh…” Wanda looks through a couple bags before she finds the vegetables that had been on the list. “Yes.” _

_ “Good. Leave them by the sink. I’ll start on dinner once I finish this,” she says, gesturing to the tablet and notepad. _

_ “Ready to go, Cap?” Sam says as he re-enters the room. _

_ “Yeah, let’s go.” _

_ “Stick to-” _

_ “The back roads and forest,” Sam finishes for Natasha. “We know, Nat. You worry too much.” _

_ Wanda grins at Sam echoing her earlier thoughts. “Someone has to,” Natasha mutters while refocusing on her task. _

_ Wanda makes quick work of the last few bags of groceries and then realizes she isn’t quite sure what to do. _

_ “I picked up a few new books last time I went into the city,” Nat says, seemingly having noticed her predicament. “They’re in our room if you want to read for a bit.” _

_ “Thanks,” she replies, liking the sound of an afternoon curled up with a book. _

_ She heads into the room she and Nat are sharing and looks around for the books. She spots an envelope on her bag and frowns, unsure of where it came from. She opens it and finds some sheets of paper, some photos of a cabin, and a wad of cash. A quick look at the papers tells her that the cabin is located in Sokovia, and her frown deepens further in confusion. But she recognizes the handwriting as Natasha’s and heads back into the den to get some answers. _

_ “What is this?” she asks as she enters the room, holding up the papers and pictures. _

_ Natasha looks up from the tablet. “A safehouse,” she answers plainly. _

_ “Why is it in my bag?” _

_ “It’s for you.” _

_ Wanda’s irrational fear kicks in before she can think logically. “Are you kicking me out?” _

_ Natasha chuckles, much to Wanda’s annoyance. “No, not at all. I know better than to piss off the strongest one here.” _

_ “Then what is this?” she presses, waving the envelope. _

_ “A safehouse for you. Having a backup plan is always important. It’s a good habit to get into.” _

_ “But we’re using your safehouses,” she replies dumbly. They’d jumped from place to place, staying as long as Natasha deemed safe before moving onto another one of her seemingly endless safehouses. Wanda had wondered on more than one occasion just how many of these houses Natasha had across the globe. And she had wondered how many of them Natasha had been forced to use over the years. _

_ “Yes, but this isn’t for the guys. This one is for you.” _

_ “But why do I need a separate one?” _

_ Natasha sighed. “If things go bad, for whatever reason, and we have to split up, then you need a place to go and lie low. I left ones for Sam and Steve too.” _

_ “I’m not leaving you behind like that,” Wanda refutes immediately. The thought of being alone is terrifying and not something she wants to even consider. _

_ “You will if I tell you to,” Nat replies immediately with a tight expression and firm tone that tells Wanda she isn’t to question her mentor’s decision. _

_ “It won’t get to that.” _

_ “You don’t know that,” she reasons patiently. _

_ “It won’t,” Wanda repeats stubbornly. Maybe a part of her doesn’t want to imagine things getting worse than they already are. Maybe she’s in denial. _

_ “Nevertheless, I’m going to be prepared for it if it does.” _

_ Wanda sighs as she sits down beside Natasha on the couch. “I don’t like the idea of this.” _

_ “I know,” Nat says with a sympathetic smile while patting her knee comfortingly, “but think of it as an insurance policy. You never know when you might need it.” _

_ “Was it one of yours?” she asks, eyeing the pictures more closely. The cabin is, admittedly, kind of cute. Definitely homier looking than a few of the safehouses they’d stayed in so far, and by the looks of the description of its location, it’s quite a bit more isolated. _

_ “Yes. The security isn’t quite up to the modern-day standards of the Compound, but it should be enough to keep you off the grid. It’s remote enough that you should be able to see anyone coming, but not so remote that you’re stuck if you run out of food. Helps that you can fly too. Probably cuts half the trip into the nearest town.” _

_ “Why do you have a safehouse in Sokovia?” _

_ “ _ **_Had_ ** _ ,” Nat corrects gently with another smile. “It’s yours now.” _

_ “Why  _ **_did_ ** _ you have one?” _

_ “I thought it wasn’t a bad place to have a spot, in case you wanted to go home.” _

_ Wanda blinks as the realization settles in. “You did this for me?” _

_ “I know we got off to a bad start, but you’re a part of the family. I hope you know that by now. And we take care of our own.” _

_ Wanda smiles at the admission as she realizes what Natasha means. ‘We take care of our own’ means ‘Natasha takes care of those she cares about.’ They’d grown closer in the aftermath of Ultron as Natasha began to mentor her, but she’d been preoccupied with her grief, and then with her own growing relationship with Vision. She hadn’t stopped to appreciate the care the woman had apparently put into their friendship. Natasha had never been one to spill her emotions and feelings, but her actions spoke volumes. _

_ “Won’t they look for me in Sokovia?” _

_ “They might. But they also might assume you wouldn’t chance going back there. Besides, I told you - it’s pretty remote. And I’m the only one who knows where it is.” _

_ “I don’t know what to say,” Wanda says honestly. It’s overwhelming to think of it being needed at all, let alone that Natasha had thought to prepare on her behalf. _

_ “Memorize the details and then burn that. It’s better to keep that in your head than written down. Keep the cash somewhere safe and accessible so you’ll be able to get it when you need it.” _

_ Wanda smiles at Nat’s practicality returning. She nods seriously. “I will.” _

_ “It’s got most of the essentials, some canned food and some bottled water, I think. Not that you’ll need them, but there’s some guns and ammo too. I know I left some more cash there under a loose board near the door. There’s some clothes there, though they’re my size, so-” _

_ “Natasha,” Wanda interrupts, “thank you.” _

_ Nat offers a smile and nods once before looking back down at the tablet, ending the conversation and leaving Wanda to wonder what she’d done to deserve such love. _

* * *

Bag slung over her shoulder, Wanda makes her way up the path toward the cabin’s front door. It’s exactly as she remembered from the photos all those years ago, and yet it’s also larger than she’d imagined. But it’s isolated and surrounded by beautiful scenery – from tall trees, to towering mountains, to the crystal-clear water of the lake – and it’s quiet. As she looks around at the natural beauty of the landscape, she thinks she might be able to find some peace here.

She makes her way into the cabin and finds it covered in dust, but just as functional as Natasha had described. She easily locates the food supplies and then makes her way into the bedroom, dropping her bag onto a dresser. She finds the closet full of clothes, most in Natasha’s size. They run the gamut of styles and Wanda supposes that Natasha had wanted to be prepared for anything. Largely though, they appear to be well suited to the various seasons she knows Sokovia experiences. She digs a bit further in the closet and is surprised to find some clothes in her own size. She wonders if Natasha had stocked this place with some for her too all those years ago.

_ I thought it wasn’t a bad place to have a spot, in case you wanted to go home. _

Wanda’s heart squeezes because she’s home, but it doesn’t quite feel the way she’d hoped it would. Everything feels a bit empty without Vision by her side and the knowledge that he was well and truly gone. Not to mention losing her boys had left a hole in her heart alongside the one losing her family and Vision had torn open. And now, standing in the middle of Natasha’s safehouse, surrounded by her former mentor’s things, she feels the grief consume her and she squeezes her eyes shut as tears flood them.

It’s just too much. She can’t  _ breathe _ with the memories assaulting her. Pietro. Vision. Billy. Tommy. Natasha. It was too much.

She grabs a couple blankets from the closet and curls up on the bed, letting her tears fall because she knows it’s useless to try and stop them. She searches for sleep, but it’s elusive and just out of reach until suddenly her fatigue from days and days of traveling, stress, and grief overcome her.

* * *

When she wakes later, the sun has set and the night sky is unlike anything Wanda has ever seen. There are thousands of stars, and the rich colours of the milky way are painted across the sky. She makes her way out of the cabin and to the water’s edge, her gaze never leaving the sky. She spins around slowly, taking in the full panorama of the sky, and feels humbled.

She smiles as a memory from her early days as an Avenger surfaces. She had made her way up onto the roof of the Avengers Compound to try and find some space to breathe after a particularly difficult, emotional day. Pietro’s loss had still been fresh, and the reality of being so far from her home had sunk in, leaving her struggling to handle things. She’d found some peace in the clear sky dotted with pinpricks of light that she hadn’t seen often growing up.

_ “Sky just doesn’t look the same in the city.” _

_ Wanda turns and finds Natasha leaning against the wall next to the door leading back into the Compound. “No,” she agrees, “it doesn’t.” _

_ “Was it this clear in Sokovia?” _

_ “Sometimes,” she answers, thinking back to the few nights she’d spent with her father gazing out the window. “When there was a lull in the fighting and the dust had a chance to settle.” _

_ Natasha is quiet, her gaze pointed up at the twinkling stars. “Before I joined SHIELD, I had a mission tracking a target to a small village in Siberia. The night sky there was unreal. Wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before.” She pauses as she looks back down from the sky and meets Wanda’s gaze. “Still haven’t come close to seeing something quite that beautiful again.” _

_ “Do you miss Russia?” Wanda asks after a moment. _

_ Natasha’s words are even and measured. “Not like you miss your home. Russia was never really home for me.” _

_ Wanda thinks back to the disjointed fragments of memories she’d seen in the redhead’s mind and understands her answer. “Where’s your home then?” _

_ “Here, I guess,” Natasha replies with a casual half shrug and Wanda wonders if she means America or the Compound. “Anyway, I wanted to bring you this,” she says, walking forward and handing Wanda a thermos. “Hot chocolate,” she explains. “Proper hot chocolate, not made from powder and water,” she adds with a small smile. _

_ Wanda takes it gratefully, though she’s a little surprised. “Thank you.” _

_ Natasha just nods. “There’s a camping chair and table, and a sleeping bag in the shed over there if you want,” she says, pointing to a small structure on the other side of the roof. “Just put it back when you’re done.” _

_ Wanda looks over at the shed and then back at Natasha. _

_ “Training starts tomorrow morning at 8:30. I’ll be up around 6 if you want to join me for some breakfast. Otherwise help yourself to some food whenever you get up.” _

_ Wanda nods absently as she watches Natasha disappear back down the stairs into the Compound. She wonders why the woman is being so kind when she’d unleashed such horrors in her mind. _

_ She looks back up at the stars and wonders if things will ever stop hurting. _

Wanda closes her eyes and smiles at the memory. It’s one of the earliest she has of Natasha, and is a fascinating look into the woman’s character. She’d been renowned as the Black Widow, ruthless and calculating. And yet, despite that reputation she had been kind and warm in an unexpected way.

She’d taught her so much. About fighting, about control, and about trust. About living a life on the run, about being prepared for as many eventualities as you could, and about surviving. But mostly she had been kind and understanding when perhaps Wanda hadn’t deserved it.

Wanda breathes in deeply, feeling the breath hitch with grief, and then blows it out slowly, the breath coming out shuddering.

Natasha’s words echo softly in her mind, the lesson clear as it was the day she’d first heard it.

_ “Breathe purposefully. Don’t let your panic consume you. Control one thing, and then another, and another until you’ve grasped yourself and your situation. Then move forward.” _

Move forward. She can do that.

She looks up at the sky again and sends a silent thanks to her former mentor and friend. Thanks to Nat she has a safe place and supplies to last her a while, meaning she can focus on trying to understand what her magic can do. She can focus on trying to understand who she is.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I write this while I have multiple chapters for my other stories on the go? Absolutely. Oops. ;)
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Do let me know - always nice to see what folks think.


End file.
